Drilling apparatus



W.'T. CALDWELL DRILLIHG APPARATUS Pneu Nov. l14, '1938 2 sheets-sheet 1VNvENToR 'ATTORNEY w. T. CALDWELL. 2,194,066 DRI'LLING APPARATUS FiledNov. 14, 195e 2 sheets-sheep 2 INVENTOR v Wa/ e Ta/dwe/ BY v ATTO R N EYmechanism to and from drilling position.

Petemed Mer. 19, y19.40

UNITE-DRSTATES lernte ammo Damme rrAnAros 1 Wolter r. calderon, noie,ons., minor to The George E. Falling Supply Company, Enid, Okla., a,corporationl of Oklahoma Appuooaon November 14, 1sss,-ser|a1 No. 240,236

11 claims.

This invention relates to drillingapparatus pare ticularly of theportable type and primarily intended for use in drilling boreeholes inthe prospecting for oil, gas and the like.

Drillingl appar ,tus'of this character is equipped. with apoweraugmenting' device comprising one or more hydraulic cylinders whichare supported over the bore-holeand adapted to be connected 'with thekelly. rod of the drilling string for controllingand Aapplying vpressurethereto during drilling operation. The power augmenting mechanism,`being located over' the center -of the drilling operations, interfereswith manipulation' of the 'drilling string as when adding sections ofdrill'pipe, running'in and pulling of the drilling string iso-changebits or per-form other Lsimilar' operations.

n 1s, therefore, apnnoipal object of the pr'eef ent invention toAprovide the drilling apparatus with means for moving the poweraugmenting eOther objects 'of the invention are to providel a shiftingmechanism for the'power augmenting means-.which is of simple andinexpensive construction to provide a shifting'mechanism that is readilyactuated by suitable power such as a hydraulic cylinder; te provide ashifting mechr anism wherein the kelly rod maybe retained in the poweraugmentingmechanismv; to provide a shifting varrangement whichrfacilitatesconnection and disconnection from the swivel head; and

to providela shifting mechanism which leaves the center of drillingoperationsi'ree and clear for use by the driller.,

1n accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, ashereinafter pointed out, I have' provided improved details of structure,the preferre'd form of which is illustrated in .the accom- A panyingdrawings, wherein: I

, augmenting apparatus.

. Fig. 1 is a side elevational view'of a drilling apparatus embodyingthefeatures of the present in-V ventionl and showing tle poweraugmentingdevice in drilling position in fullelines. and out of' drilling positionin dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the power augmenting device. 1

y Fig. 3 is a side elevational view similar toPlg. 1, "showing the poweraugmenting device -being moved 4from drilling position.

Fig. iis an end elevational view the drawings:

Vof I the power Referring more in detail to' I designates a/platformwhich may be mounted upon the chassis of a motor vehicle 2 and on whichthe drilling mechanism is mounted ,so

that it is readily transported from one drilling location to another.The rear, central portion of the platform has4 a substantiallyrectangular shaped opening 3, and on which is mounted lon` table 0, theturntable 8 being adapted to rotate a kelly rod 1 that ,is connected tothe upper end of va drilling string 8 carrying a drill bit 9, as inconventional practice. i

Mounted in the turntable 6 is a drive sleeve vIl having anopeningtherein corresponding to the cross-sectional area of the kelly rod sothat when the. sleeve is rotated by the conventional gear mechanism ofthe turntable (not shown), the kelly rod is vrotated but is slidablymovable therethrough progressively with the drilling operation.' Alsocarried on theplatform, and preferebiy oonneoted therewith so' marit 1smovable from a perpendicular position as shown toa rel clining positionrelatively to the platform- I, is a tower or derrick- II carrying crownpulleys I2 for suspending the drilling string. Attached to the upper endof the kelly rod 1 is a'swivel I3 wherethrough a. drilling iluid-isdelivered to the interior i of the drilling string as in lstandardrotary drilling practice. 'I 'he swivel head I 3 has the-usual -bailIlwhich is engaged by a hook "I5 on the 'end of a drill cable IB, bywhich the kelly rod and drilling string are raised and lowered in theAtower II, the drill cable being wound upon the reel of a conventionalhoisting drum (not shown), but which is ordinarily mounted on theplatform I.l

In drilling certain formations it is desirable to apply pressure ina'downward direction onthe drill bit to promotev cutting action thereof,however, when-the depth of the hole increases, the

. weight of the drilling string becomes greater. due

to the necessarily greater length thereof, and it r,is desirable topartially relieve the pressure thereof on the drill bit. This iseffected by a power augmenting mechanism, generally designated I1,

and `which includes apair of cylinders I8 and I9 lsuitably spaced4 aparton the opposite sides oi 4the turntable and which have pistons 20slidabley therein and connected by rods 2I with a cross head 22.The'cross head 22 extends over the turntable and has a ring-like portion23 through which the kellyrod is extended and which rot'atably carries achuck or suitable gripping `device 24 adapted to srippinly engage thekelly rod. The cylinders" and I9 are suppliedI with a piston actuatinguid through conduits 25 and 2i that are connected with a fuir-way valve'21 controlling supply of the uid to and from the respective ends of thecylinders and a. source of supply (no t shown). pressure Vfluid isadmitted to the upper ends of the cylinders to act on the pistons in adownward direction, vpressure is applied through the chuck 24, kelly rod1, and drilling string 8 on the Y kelly rod follows through the chuck 24until thev chuck has approached the upper end' thereof. It then becomesnecessary to insert another drill pipe section in the drilling string.To apply a drill pipe section it is necessary to remove the poweraugmenting mechanism away from the turntable. shifting the powermechanism, including the kelly y rod, away from the turntable anddepositi'rig-therr'iin an out-of-the-way position, as now tobedescribed.

In the illustrated instance the lower heads of the cylinders are shownas provided with spaced pairs-of ears 28 and 29, preferably connectingshift arms or links 30 and 3| which have their rear ends xed to ashaft-22 that is mounted in suitable' bearings 33 on the platform, andwhich extends transversely thereof as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Theforward'ends of the arms are engaged between the ears and are connectedtherewith by pivot members 34 which extend through the ears and throughthe arms as shown in Fig. 4. The arms are of sufhcient length so thatthe shaft 32 and its supporting bearings are spaced from the turntableto give sufficient room for the driller during work on the drillingstring.

Mounted on the platform, with their lower ends in alignment with theends of the shaft 32. are.

tubular posts 35 and 36 inclined in the direction of the turntable tocause inclination of the kelly. rod in the direction of the crown pulleywhen the power device is in inoperative position. The upper ends of theposts are rigidly retained in position by-brace legs 31. Srlidablymounted in the upper ends of the posts are the stems 38 of dollies 29.The dollies #lhs/.ve heads 40 to which are pivoted the endsfof'shiftarms 4i and` 42 having their other ends pivotally connected with theheads of the respective hydraulic cylinders, the dolly heads beingconnected to the arms by suitable pivot members 43 and to the heads ofthe cylinders by pivot members 44.

Since the power augmenting mechanism must be supported perpendicularwhen in drilling position, the shift arms ll'and 42 are thereforeshorter than -the shift arms 20 and 3i so that when the power augmentingmechanism is moved to inoperative position it is 'inclined as abovenoted and the axis of the ,kelly rod substantially` aligns with thecrown pulley l2 as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. l. In order toaccommodate the kelly rod, the platform is provided with an opening 45registering `with a rat-hole Vthat ls drilled into the earth and casedby a suitable pipe of 'suflicient diameter to freely receive the -kellyrod. Y

In order to shift the power augmenting mechanism to the dotted lineposition shown in Fig. 1,

For example, when the v I therefore provide means for bodily v therat-hole. mechanism Vhas been moved to the dotted line the shaft l2carries a sprocket 48 that is fixed thereon and whichis actuated from alarger sprocket 41 through a chain belt 4l operating thereover. 'I'hesprocket 41 is rotatably mounted on a supporting shaft 49 carried insuitable bearings 5l on the platform to the rear of the post 35 and atone side of the opening 45, so that the mechanism does not interferewith movement of the power augmenting mechanism and the kelly rod. Thesprocket 45 is of smaller diameter than the sprocket 41 so that thesprocket 41 need make only a partial revolution in effecting sullicientrotation of the sprocket 4B to carry the shlftarms 30 and 2l from thefull line position shown in Fig. 1 to the dotted line position.

Connected with the sprocket 41 is an arm 52 which is connected by a link53 with a piston rod 54 of a 'hydraulic cylinder 55. The hydrauliccylinder 55 contains a piston 56 which is connected with the rod andwhich is shifted within the cylinderv to effect rocking movement of thearm 52 in moving the power augmenting mechanism to and from itsrespective positions. The piston 55 is under control of a pressurelfluid that is selectively admitted tothe respective ends of the cylinder55 through connections 51 and 58 with a four-way control valve 552VInusing the drilling mechanism constructed and assembled as described,and assuming that the power augmenting mechanism 'is in drillingposition as shown by the full lines in Fig. 1, and assuming that thedrilling has progressed to the point where it is necessary to introducean additional section of drill pipe into the drilling string,

may be raised therethrough until the' upper end of the rst. joint ofdrill pipe projects from the' turntable a sufcient distance to apply theusual slipsin supporting the drilling string while the kelly rod isdisconnected. In this position the lower end of the kelly rod is clearand free of the turntable but is carried in the chuck of the poweraugmenting mechanism. After uncouplng the kelly rod from the supportedend of the drilling string, the valve 59 vis opened to admit pressuremedium to the rear end of the 'cylinder 55 and to allow discharge of thepressure medium from the forward end of the cylinder. The'piston 6G istherefore moved under pressure of the uid to eect swinging movement ofthe arm 52 in a. clockwise direction and corresponding movement of thesprocket 41 since it is rigidly connected therewith.

The ,sprocket 41 imparts clockwise movement to the sprocket 46 throughthe chain connection 45 causing the shift arms 30 and- 2| to move in aclockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 3,-v carrying the lower ends ofthe power cylinder therewith. A corresponding movement will "be impartedto `the upper' ends of the cylinders through connection thereof with thedolly heads V4Il. Since thevarms 4l and 42 are shorter than device inaninclined position so that the kelly rod may be lowered through theopening 45 into When the power augmenting position, the valve 59 isVclosed to, retain pres sure in the respective ends of the 'cylinder II.thereby supporting the power mechanism inthe position shown. In thisposition the chuck is readily reached by the driller standing on the asin conventional practice.

platform I so that it may be loosened to allow lowering of the kelly rodinto the "rat-hole" by the cable i6. When the kelly rod has beencompletely lowered, the hook I5 is readily disconnected from the swivelhead so that the cable may be used in operating the elevators (notshown) in adding another section of drill pipe After the section ofdrill pipe 'has been added and lowered into the wel1, and supported bythe spider on the turntable, the hook I5 is again connected with thebail of the swivel and the kelly rod withdrawn from the rat-hole. Thevalve -59 is then actuated to reverse inlet and outlet of pressuremedium, thereby eiecting reverse movement of the shift arms 30 and 3| sothat the power augmenting mechanism carrying the kelly rod is returnedto drilling position. When in perpendicular position, as shown in Fig.l, the kelly rod is connected with the projecting section of drill pipeand the spider removed therefrom so that the drilling operation maycontinue. If it is necessary to use the power augmenting means itis-made effective by tightening the chuck to-the kelly rod andcontrolling the valve 2l so as to admit pressure medium to the cylindersi8 and I9 in obtaining the desired degree of chuck movement.

From the foregoing it is obvious that I have provided a drillingapparatus of the character described with a shifting mechanism which isof simple construction and which facilitates movement of the poweraugmenting mechanism to and from drilling position.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters connecting the piston withthe'power augmenting device including means for compounding movement ofthe piston.

2. vIn a. drilling rig of the character described, a platform, a.turntable on theplatform, said platform having an opening spaced fromthe turntable, a power augmenting device supported over the turntablewhen in a drilling position, a kelly rod drivingly engaged by theturntable and grippingly engaged with the' power ausmentingdevice,bracket means fixed to the platform, links of differential lengthconnecting the A power augmenting device with the bracket means forswingingly moving the power augmenting device from over said turntableto an inclined position where the kelly rod is Yadapted to be loweredthrough said opening, and means compensating for the shorter ofv saidlinks during movement of the power augmenting device.

3.. In a drilling rig, a platform, a turntable carried by the platform,a power augmenting device, said platform having an opening spaced fromthe turntable, a pair of spaced posts supported on the platform andinclining `in the direction of thev turntable, dolly heads slidablymovable on said posts, a pair of shifting arms pivotally connecting anupper portion of the power augmenting device with the dolly heads,

a second pair of shifting arms pivotally coning device from a positionover'the turntable to a position in registry with said opening.

4. In a drilling rig, a platform, a turntable carried ,by the platform,a power augmenting device, said platform having an opening spaced fromthe turntable, a pair of spaced supports mounted on the platform-andinclining in the direction of the turntable, dolly heads slidablymovable on said supports, a pair ofshifting arms pivotally connecting anupperportion of the power augmenting device with the dolly heads, asecond pair. of shifting arms pivotally connected with lower portions ofthe power augmenting device, a shaft mounting said last named arms,means journalling the shaft at the-base of said supports, and means forrotating the shaft to effect movement of the power augmenting devicefrom .a position over the turntable to a position in registry with saidopening.

5. In a drilling rig, a platform, a turntable carried by the platform, apower augmenting device, said platform having an opening spaced from theturntable, a pair of spaced posts supported on the platform andinclining in the direction of the turntable, dollyheads slidably movableon said posts, a pair of shifting arms pivotally connecting an upperportion of the power augmenting device with the dolly heads, a secondpair of shifting arms pivotally connected with lower portions ofthe,power augmenting device, a shaft mounting said last named arms,means journalling the shaft at the base of said posts, 'a hydrauliccylinder carried by the platform, a piston slidable in the cylinder, a.piston rod carried from a position over said turntable to a position inregistry with said opening'. Y,

s. In a drilling rig, a platform, a turntame carried by the platform, apower augmenting device, said platform having an opening spaced from theturntable, supports on said platform,-

a pair of shifting arms pivotally connecting an upper portion of thepower augmenting device with the supports, a second pair of shiftingarmsj pivotallyy connected with lower portions of the power augmentingdevice, a shaft mounting said last named arms, means journalling theshaft at the base of said supports, a hydraulic cylinder carried bytheplatform, a piston slidable in the cylinder, a piston rod carried by thepiston, a

sprocket on said shaft, a larger sprocket rotatably mounted on theplatform, achain operating over saidv sprockets, a crank arm connectedwith the last4 sprocket, means connecting the crank arm with the pistonrod, and means for admitting pressure medium to said cylinder foreffecting movement ofthe power augmenting device from a position oversaid turntable to a position in registry withsaid opening.

7. In a drilling` apparatus, a supporting platform, a power augmentingdevice, bracket means on said platform, Ymeans having pivotal'connection with the power augmenting device and said bracket'means, anoscillatory actuator having driving connection with one of said plv'-driving connection with one of said pivotal connections, a reciprocatoryactuator, and means connecting the reciprocatory actuator with saidoscillatory actuator including a transmission mechanism for increasingrelative movement of said actuators;

9. In a drilling apparatus, a supporting platform, a power augmentingdevice, bracket means on said platform, means having pivotal connectionwith the power augmenting vdevice and said bracket means, a sprockethaving driving connection with one of said pivotal connections, a largersprocket rotatably mounted on the platform, a chain operating over saidsprockets, a

crank connected with the larger of said sprockets, and a reciprocatoryhydraulic actuator connected with said crank for effecting movement ofthe power augmenting device.

10. In a drilling apparatus, a power augmenting device, means pivotallysupporting the power augmenting device for movement into and out of adrilling position, an oscillatory actuator having connection with saidpower augmenting device to effect movement of the power augmentingdevice to and from said drilling position, a reciprocatory actuator, anda driving connection between the reciprocatory actuator and theoscillatory actuator.

11. In a drilling apparatus including drill rotating means, a poweraugmenting device, means pivotally supporting the power augmentingdevice for swinging movement to and from a drilling position relativelyto the drill rotating means, a driven member having connection with thepower augmenting device, a driving member, a connection between thedriving and driven members, an arm connected with the driving member,

and'areciprocatory actuator having driving connection with the drivingmember.

WALTER T. CALDWELL.

